MORE than £10m has so been paid out from Newport City Council to help maintain Tredegar House.

The Argus can reveal that the council has paid £10,472,000 to the National Trust since 2012, with more large payments expected.

A 50-year lease, which was agreed in 2012, involves money going towards a repairs and capital investment fund to help improve and maintain Tredegar House.

Payments made so far includes £7,600,000 in 2012, £308,850 in 2013, £407,200 in 2014 and £1,256,650 last year.

Future payments will include £2,004,750 in 2022, £431,900 in 2037 and £40,000 in 2062.

There was also a commitment for the National Trust to use £4 million of this fund to complete the agreed backlog of repairs identified at transfer.

A transfer agreement was also agreed, which sees the council provide a revenue subsidy of £150,000 a year for the first 25 years of the lease - which will stop once visitor numbers reach above 120,000.

This will mean – with six years of subsidies paid – at least £12,948,700 will have been paid by the time the lease comes to an end.

Newport resident Alan Richards described the sum of money as "enormous".

“This is enormous when you think of it,” he said. "The council should reverse the decision.

“It is enormous especially when there are other organisations which desperately need much.”

But Bettws resident Jo Parry said: "The house is part of our history and I am glad it is being supported.

"People come to Newport to see it. It brings in tourists."

A spokesman from the National Trust said it is estimated the repair and conservation is in excess of £12 million.

He said: "It also costs more than £1 million a year to run Tredegar House. When you average the sums involved in the lease agreement out over 50 years, then it is less than a quarter of a million pounds per year to maintain a priceless historic asset that is bringing in millions of pounds in revenue.

“The lease agreement is seen by all parties as a good partnership.

“Five years into that partnership, multi-million pound conservation work has been completed, visitor numbers have more than doubled to nearly 100,000 per year and extensive renovation and refurbishment work is planned for the duration of the lease period.”

Council leader Cllr Debbie Wilcox added: “Tredegar House is one of the city’s greatest treasures and the National Trust, who are the custodians of Tredegar House, are doing a fantastic job in attracting thousands of people to the city.

“The Trust has already carried out extensive work on the roof, carrying out essential work to help secure the future of Tredegar House and they have our support.”

Cllr Matthew Evans, who was council leader in 2012 when the lease was agreed, said: “Tredegar House had been badly neglected by the previous administration.

“When the opportunity arose for the National Trust to take it over it was too good to miss.

“They have made significant investments into one of Newport’s top tourism attractions.”

He added: "It would have cost a lot more if we had not made this decision."